Here are a lot of things that I could definitely live without -- an extra bowl of ice-cream, the burnt coffee that they make in the dining hall, and even the political nonsense in the United States sometimes. But one thing I definitely could not survive without is my best friend. We all have that person in our life that we turn to for everything and anything. Someone who hears your incessant insecurities, who makes corny jokes about things only you think are funny, and who reminds you that everything is going to be okay. This friendship is one of the few things that keeps you sane throughout the day because you know that there’s always that person who just instinctively gets you.
But what happens when hundreds or even thousands of miles now separate you and your sanity (AKA your best friend)? Does the friendship dissolve due to the extended proximity? Do you spend hours on FaceTime instead of getting to know the inside of your Econ textbook? As I left for college, and I realized that I’d be hours away from the person who was just ten minutes from me for the past four years, I thought things were definitely going to change. But, as we both got situated into our respective campuses, I realized that even if the locations change, the time-zones are altered, and homes are relocated, some friendships just don’t fade. So here’s some things that I didn’t expect to happen when I said my last goodbye to my number one buddy until Thanksgiving…
Bad days are so much worse without your best bud.
We all have those days where you wonder if getting out of bed in the morning was even worth it. When your best friend’s near you, you could totally go grab some ice cream, start jamming out to crazy music, or just vent to each other while trying to understand how FIFA works. But, hundreds of miles in between each other make such activities difficult.
You realize how much of an OG Steve Jobs was for giving us FaceTime.
Texting is great, phone calls are sweet, but FaceTime is simply next level communication. Nothing beats being together in person, but this is definitely a close second. Plus, it makes meeting your best friend’s new friends so much more entertaining.
You start to miss their family more than you miss them.
My best friend’s family has morphed into my own family. There were too many times when I would go over her house just to talk to her mom or hang out with her sister that it made me wonder who really was my best friend. Everyone says that you miss your parents when you’re at college, but spoiler alert: you miss your best friend’s parent too. And how could you not, they’re basically your best friends too.
Getting texts about people you don’t know and being like, “huh….”
There have been so many times where I’ve gotten a text from my best friend breaking down the social dynamic in her new friend group. I have no idea who these people are and now that I’m being introduced to this drama circle, I feel like I need to make a circular flow diagram just to reference when she texts me about the new group drama.
You realize that you don’t have a best friend, you have the best freaking friend in the world.
If you know me, then you know I might have a slight obsession with HBO’s "Sex and the City." On one of the episodes, the quartet of friends establishes that even if the men in their lives may come and go, their true soulmates are each other. Sometimes, the purest sense of love can be seen between two friends. You are always laughing, always goofing around, maybe even sometimes crying, but always there for each other. And that’s something that no one tells you when you leave your best friend... You’re going to miss each other, some things may change, but your friendship is still there and stronger than ever.
